


The Killing Games

by LAWood



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Death, Team whump, Torture, Violence, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:24:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13738848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LAWood/pseuds/LAWood
Summary: "When the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse rise, Hawaii will fall…". When a delusional psychopath gets hold of the Five-0 team, he puts them through painful trials. If all four members are in danger, who can save the team?





	1. Chapter 1

Steve McGarrett headed down the hallways of the Five-0 headquarters, running a hand through his dark hair as he tried to keep his eyes open. He came across his partner’s office and swung the door open.

“Hey Danno, I-“ He stopped as Danny’s head jerked up from the table. “W-were you sleeping?” Steve asked, stifling a snigger but not able to stop himself from grinning.

“Yes, yes I was.” Danny rubbed his eyes, clearly irritated by being woken up.

“Okay…Why?” Steve asked, drawling out his words and arching up a brow.

“Because it’s two in the morning and I’m sat at a desk. Now what do you want?” He was clearly still agitated as he glared up at his partner.

“I’m clockin’ out for the night, you headin’ off too?” Steve asked him, tilting his head to the left in light concern for his tired friend. His eyes had their own set of luggage beneath them and there’s very little work that one can do when they’re this tired.

Danny sighed, dropping his pen and rubbing his hands over his face. “Yeah, I’ll finish this off in the morning.”

“All right, see you tomorrow, Danno.” Steve gave a small parting nod, which Danny returned, before he headed off home.

Danny didn’t stay long after Steve had left, his eyes starting to droop and he decided to call it quits before he ended up writing something completely irrelevant on his reports out of sleep deprivation. He exited his office and headed out to his car, stifling a yawn as he tossed his paperwork in the passenger’s seat. He remembered almost nothing of the drive home. It was just sort of a tired blur, which wasn’t safe, to be driving when he was so tired. But what was he supposed to do? Call a cab?

He arrived at his apartment without incident and dropping his keys on the coffee table, he collapsed on the couch.

Something was wrong.

He looked at the kitchen counter and sat bolt upright.

Steve had once bought him an ornament of a penguin, to make fun of the fact that Danny didn’t like the Hawaiian heat and once when the SEAL was visiting, he made a point in making sure that the penguin always faced North. Just something he decided should be. And Danny kept it like that.

So why was the little porcelain bird facing West? Danny hadn’t touched it recently. Grace was even more concerned with it facing North than Steve was, so she wouldn’t have moved it.

Danny’s hand flew to the gun on his belt and he stood up. He stalked towards the bathroom and eased the door open. No one there. Then he heard a thump coming from his bedroom and his gun was out, held out in front of him as he crept towards the door.

_1_

_2_

_3_

He put his shoulder into the door, slamming it open as he shoved his gun into the room, jerking it in every direction to clear them room of any intruders. No one there.

The window was open and the blinds were knocking around in the wind.

_That must have been the noise._

That was the difference between the detective and the SEAL. Danny left windows open all the time. It was too damn hot not to and he simply forgot to close them again. Whereas Steve would have a fit if there was a window left open in his house. _So tightly wound_ , Danny always thought.

He sighed to himself, relief washing over him. He replaced his gun in the holster on his belt and made his way over to the window, pushing it down shut.

He stepped away from the window, about to head back to the lounge when a sharp pain and a crack ripped through the back of his head and he was consumed in darkness.

* * *

“Mornin’ boss.” Kono smiled warmly as she walked into the conference room towards Steve.

“Hey Kono,” Steve greeted, although it was clear that his mind was somewhere else.

“Everything okay?” Kono ventured, propping her hands on her hips as she sensed Steve’s’ absent mind.

“Did you see Danny on your way in?” Steve asked her with a stoic expression plastered upon his features.

“Uh, no. I didn’t.” She shook her head, furrowing her brows at Steve’s rapid growth in concern. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon, Steve.”

“He’s not answering his phone.” Steve declared and began dialling his partner’s number again.

“Maybe he slept in.” Kono shrugged, trying to think of a rational possibility that wouldn’t end in Steve breaking down someone’s door in search for Danny.

“No-“

“You know what he’s like. And he had a long night last night.” Kono shrugged.

“Kono. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.” Steve met Kono’s eyes, his blue orbs pleading her to believe him while still managing to retain a serious look to them.

The slim female looked up into her superior’s eyes and sighed. Her lips parted to speak but she was stopped by Chin’s sudden entrance.

“Guys, you gotta see this.” His expression was one the team recognised as being a signal of bad news.

Steve was almost in front of Chin as the detective led him and Kono to Danny’s office and round to the desk. He picked up an envelope and handed it to Steve.

_‘The Four Horsemen of Hawaii’_

Was written on the front of it in red ink and Steve looked at Chin.

“I haven’t opened it yet.” Chin told him.

Steve made his way to his desk and pulled out a pair of black examination gloves, before taking the envelope to the smart table and opening it with extreme care. Satisfied that there were no obvious signs of explosives, toxics or anything harmful, Steve pulled out a cell phone that was inside the envelope.

He exchanged looks with both his teammates before the phone started to ring. They all hesitated, holding their breath. Is it a bomb threat? A terrorist perhaps?

Steve decided they would never know unless they answered. He flipped open the phone, it wasn’t very modern, and answered, putting it on speaker so Chin and Kono could hear.

“This is Commander Steve McGarrett. To whom am I speaking?” He demanded, keeping his ‘commander’ voice steady with a deep tone.

“ _War_.” A shaky old voice cooed to him. It sounded like an old man, a sinister old man. Chin looked at Kono, then Steve with a deep frown

“ _Excuse me?_ To whom am I speaking?” Steve repeated, getting agitated.

“ _Commander Steve McGarrett…War. Officer Kono Kalakaua…famine_ ,” Kono swallowed thickly as her name was mentioned.

“ _Detective Chin Ho Kelly…Pestilence_ ,” Chin didn’t like the sound of that. He looked to Steve, but he was already anticipating the man’s next words.

“ _Detective Daniel Williams…Death_.” Steve slammed his fist on the table.

“What have you done with Danny?” He barked.

“ _The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Hawaii will fall…_ ” Was all the old man said, before the line went dead.

The tone of the dead line sent flames of rage through Steve and he resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room at someone. “Kono, get this to Charlie, see what he can find in forensics, Chin, see if you can trace that call.” He rapped out his orders and Kono hurried away with the cell phone and the envelope.

Chin lingered. “What are you gonna do?” He asked the Commander.

“I’m goin’ to find Danny.” Steve stated before heading off outside to his truck.

* * *

Danny didn’t wake comfortably. Tied to a chair wasn’t the position humans were supposed to sleep in. Although Danny hadn’t been asleep; he was out cold, which was _not_ the same thing.

His eyes fluttered open and he cringed at the thunder of pain crashing through his head. He felt warm liquid dripping down the back of his head through his hair. His head was throbbing; it literally felt as though it was pulsating with pain.

He blinked a couple of times to focus his hazy vision, but didn’t like what he saw. That’s because he saw nothing, well, more or less. He was in a dark room, with only a window on the slanted ceiling for light. It beamed down a sort of spotlight, highlighting where Danny was bound to a thick wooden chair. He was bound with rope, tied around his chest, holding down his arms and his wrists and ankles were also tied with rope, his hands behind his back.

The room was too dark, not just in terms of light. The floor was metal, but it was a black metal. The walls were the same. There was a small window on the door across from him but he couldn’t see what was outside it, just a wall.

It was like something out of a horror film and Danny didn’t like horror films.

He struggled against the restraints and let out a tentative call for help. His call went unheard. Unheard by anyone who wanted to help that is. The small door opposite Danny let out a squeal as it was opened and a dark figure stepped in. Danny’s entire body stiffened.

The man was tall, too tall in fact. It’s not hard to make Danny feel small, at 5’5” even Kono towers over him; but this guy was even taller than Steve. He was dressed in a long black cloak with his hood up and he carried a long sickle.

_Oh my God…is that…am I?_

“Hello Daniel.” The man spoke. His voice was hoarse and he sounded old and weak, but he could see the man’s lips curl up into a sickening smirk. “You are here to be tested.”

Steve pulled up outside Danny’s apartment and climbed out of the truck almost before he’d pulled on the handbrake.

“Danny!” He called out, running to the door. He found it was left on the latch and his blood ran cold. **“Danny!** ” He cried again, his voice ringing with desperation as he barged into the apartment, his gun out in front of him.

He searched every room and found nothing until he entered the bedroom. “Dann…” His voice failed him as he saw Danny’s badge and gun left on the bed, both covered in blood. He looked to the window and noticed tiny spatters of red on it. Clearly made from blunt force trauma and judging by the height, it was to Danny’s head.

He’d been injured, kidnapped and who knows what else.

Steve placed a hand on the clean wall and dropped his head, letting out a sigh. “God, damn it.” He whispered regretfully.

He headed out to his truck again while he called for a forensics team and dialled Chin’s number straight after he was finished with them.

“Detective Kelly.” His teammate’s voice answered.

“Chin, Danny’s been taken.” Steve rapped out, climbing into the car.

“ _Shit_. Where are you?” Chin asked, closing his eyes and running a hand over his face.

“Danny’s apartment.”

“What did you find?”

“His gun and badge, there was blood covered on both and there were spatters on the wall and window. He was probably surprised by a blow to the head and then taken.” Steve relayed his findings as he sat in the driver’s seat of his truck.

“Do you think it’s the guy who called before?”

“Well, who else could it be?” Steve shrugged. “It’s too much of a coincidence that we get a phone call that mentions Danny and the word death and then he gets taken.”

“You’re right.”

“Did you get a trace on the cell phone?” Steve asked, moving on with the investigation.

“Ah, yes, actually. We traced it back to a large house North of Honolulu. I’m just about to head there now.” Chin was slightly pleased to reveal.

“Good, take Kono. I don’t want anyone else getting taken.” Steve said, although he was a bit of a hypocrite, telling his teammates not to go anywhere alone when he had done exactly that not half an hour ago. But what was he supposed to do? His partner was missing.

“Will do.” Chin nodded, heading to fetch Kono.

“All right, call me and tell me what you find.” Steve requested before hanging up.

* * *

It took a little while for Danny to pluck up the courage to speak with the person in front of him. But when he did, he couldn’t help but be sarcastic.

“Nice costume.” He commented, swallowing thickly. Humour comforted him, made him feel safe.

“Feisty. I’m glad.” The Grim Reaper-like character murmured to him with a smirk.

“What am I doing here?” Danny dared himself to ask, his voice a little weak from fear.

“You are here to be tested.”

“What are you talkin’ about? _Tested_?”

“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” The figure declared passionately. “War, Famine, Pestilence…” He looked straight at Danny. “Death.”

“Yeah, I know the story. What’s this got to do with me?” Danny snipped, getting irritated with the cloaked psycho.

“Five-0.” The man stated. “You are the horsemen. The island will fall when you rise.”

“What the-“ Danny looked at the man in horror, but he didn’t see the point in arguing. This guy had lost his mind. That much was clear.

“You must be tested. The world must know if you are truly the Four Horsemen.”

“All right, listen to me. Okay? We are not the horsemen. We’re just people, all right? I mean-I don’t even like horses! I’m just a cop, okay?” Danny rambled nervously, desperate to convince this man of his innocence.

The man pulled out a chrome Desert eagle hand gun and aimed it at Danny. The detective’s breathing stopped and he shut his eyes.

“Approximately how many people in the US die of gunshot wounds every year?” The man asked, his finger placed on the trigger. His voice was distant, almost like he was singing.

“What?!” Danny’s eyes opened and he looked up, his brows pulling towards the sky as he feared for his life. “G-I don’t know!”

“Around 30,000.” The man answered. He lowered the gun, aiming it at Danny’s hand and fired.

Pain ripped through Danny’s hand as the skin was ravaged by the bullet and he let out a sharp groan, clenching his teeth together as not to scream out.

“That was stage one. You are failing Daniel.” The man stated before turning sharply on his heel and exiting, leaving Danny with a bloodied hand and not much else.

The bullet had gone straight through, in through the forehand and to the floor beside his feet. By the looks of it, his main artery hadn’t been broken, perhaps just nicked. Blood trickled out but he couldn’t feel it yet. Pain drowned the skin, rendering his nerves almost useless.

He rested his head on the back of the chair and let out a harsh exhale, groaning a little as he did.

Why was he here? Well, he knew that much. Because some crackpot thinks that he and his team are gonna destroy the island with their biblical super powers.

But the only questions that really mattered were if he would ever get out of here and what would become of his friends?

* * *

Chin and Kono had arrived at the house that they traced the call back to and they stalked up to the house, guns at the ready. Chin rapped his knuckles on the door. “Five-0! Open up!” He barked.

No answer.

He should have repeated the order again, but when his friends are at risk, protocol can wait. He swung round to face to the door and kicked it open, surging into the house and jerking his gun in every direction. Kono followed and the two searched the house.

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

Every-damn-room was clear. Nothing suspicious or threatening anywhere.

“Damn.” Chin cursed, regrouping with Kono back in the front room.

“We’ll keep looking.” Kono placed her hand on her cousin’s arm. “There’s gotta be something.”

The front door slammed closed, startling the cousins. Chin was about to investigate when the doors to all the other rooms slammed shut too, trapping them both in the room.

“Oh no…” Kono whimpered, piecing together what was happening as she whipped out her cell phone.

A hissing noise frightened the two, because they knew what the sound meant. Gas.

“Cover your mouth and nose!” Chin warned his cousin as he slammed his shoulder into the front door in attempt to open it. A failed attempt.

“McGarrett.” Steve sighed, answering Kono’s call. His lazy tone reflected that he did not suspect the response he would get.

“Steve! It’s a trap!” Kono cried behind her hand.

“What?!”

“There’s gas! We’re trapped!” Chin started to cough and fell to his knees. “Chin!”

“I’m on my way Kono! Both of you, **stay awake**!”

Kono dropped to her knees, coughing desperately.

“Kono!” Steve cried, climbing into his car.

_Oh, God. Please no!_

Chin dropped to the ground, losing consciousness. He was shortly followed by Kono.

“Kono?” Steve panicked at the lack of response. “Kono? **Chin! Kono!** ”

* * *

When Steve and a SWAT team arrived on the scene, the pair were nowhere to be found. Their guns and their badges were left in the middle of the floor, covered in blood. Just like Danny’s.

The forensics team had identified the blood on Danny’s possessions to be his, so Steve had no reason to doubt that this blood belonged to either Chin or Kono. Or both.

Steve hit his back on the wall and closed his eyes. They were gone. They were _all_ gone. He was the only one left. It was up to _him_ to save them.

Kono woke up on the floor with her hair over her face. Her throat was bone-dry and irritated from breathing in the gas. She pushed herself up a little and looked around, seeing nothing familiar or comforting around her.

“Ch’nnn?...” she slurred, her head still swimming. “Chin,” Her voice was growing in strength as she searched for her cousin. “Chin!” Panic rose in her as her senses were roused and she turned over, sitting up. “Chin! Where are you!” She cried which hurt her throat.

The door to the small room opened and a tall dark figure walked in. They were wearing a long, grey cloak with the hood up so Kono couldn’t see their eyes.

The man approached her, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up to her feet painfully. He grabbed her other arm and twisted it behind her back. Forcing her in front of him, like when a cop apprehends a suspect, he nudged the back of her knees with his, encouraging her to walk forward.

“Hey! Watch it!” Kono warned, although her voice shook with fear.

The man marched her through hallways, passing various doors and hallways. Kono glanced in the windows on the doors she passed, not seeing anything. Until she did see something. Just a glimpse, but she knew what she saw.

“Wait. Danny?” Kono breathed, digging her heels into the ground as she forced the man backwards to look in the window again.

And she was right. There, tied to a chair in a small dark room was the blonde detective they had been looking for. He was here. They’d taken him, just like they’d taken her.

“ **Danny**!” She screamed. His head was hanging down and he hadn’t woken up after she screamed. “No! **Danny**!” her squeals resembled a pig at slaughter as she clawed against the man in the cloak to get to Danny.

But he was too strong.

Kono isn’t your average woman. She has great strength behind her slim exterior, but she was no match for this man. He grabbed her and lifted her up, almost without effort. “Danny!” She continued to scream, kick, pull, scratch and struggle as she was carried down the hall.

The man opened a door and tossed her in. She landed on the ground but within a second she scrambled up to her feet, swung round and slammed against the door, attempting to escape before it was shut but failing.

“Oh, I get it!” She yelled. “Death, huh? What was I? Famine? So you’re just gonna leave me starve in here?” She hissed spitefully. This guy wouldn’t scare her. Well…she wouldn’t let him know how much she was scared anyway.

“There’s some meat to snack on in there if you want it; though it might be a little… _tainted_.” The man spoke hoarsely through the door before leaving.

Kono turned around and stopped breathing. “Chin!” She didn’t think her screams could get any louder or high pitched, but she stood corrected.

She threw herself to the ground beside her cousin’s pale body and checked for a pulse. It was there, barely.

“ **Chin**! Oh God…Oh god, _no_ …” She started to cry as she bundled his upper body up onto her lap and stroked his hair.

His temperature was sky high and his skin was pale. She could see remnants of blood in the corner of his mouth where he had coughed it up and his body trembled, drenched in sweat.

Pestilence.

“No, no, no, no, no,” sobbed the woman on her knees.

Chin was sick. Dying.

* * *

Danny was wrong before, when he came to the conclusion that the bullet hadn’t hit an artery. The wound in his hand hadn’t stopped bleeding, nor had the flow let up. Red liquid pooled beside his foot as it flowed out of his hand, spreading across it like a vicious spider’s web before dropping down to the floor.

He could feel his skin getting pale, the blood not reaching his face enough to warm his cheeks. It took a lot of his energy just to breathe, since the blood carrying his oxygen refused to move around his body, instead being forced out through his wound.

This was Death. Being faced with it. The questions were just for show. The cloaked man returned every so often with more questions relating to death statistics. Danny had gotten two out of four correct, but it didn’t matter. If he answered wrong, the man would push his thumb into the wound, breaking more of the tissue that desperately tried to close the wound and forcing more blood out. But if he answered correctly, the man would just leave. He wouldn’t help, or ease Danny’s pain. He would simply refuse to acknowledge him and exit.

Danny felt his pulse slowing. He faded in and out of consciousness. Each time he returned to reality with hopes that it was all just a horrid nightmare; the pain in his hand and his lack of energy to even breathe would bring him right back up to speed with his current situation.

He prayed to whatever God was out there that he would get out of this. That he wouldn’t have to face death in such a slow and real way. If he died, he would feel it. There would be no quick ‘lights out’ sort of thing. He would feel himself slip away. That was how this ‘test’ was designed. He would be forced to _face_ death in every sense of the word. Only this wasn’t a test. How would he win? This guy was trying to prove that Danny was Death, the horseman, but how would he prove it if Danny died?

That just solidified Danny’s accusation. The man was psychotic, not even aware of his own delusions.

He started to think of his team. There are four horsemen. There are four members of Five-0. Who would the other horsemen be?

Steve would be war. That much was clear. You would know that by just spending a day with the guy. Every fibre of his being expressed how much he loved combat and loved the adventure of it. Maybe not ‘war’ exactly, but Steve could never hold down a job that didn’t require a gun.

He couldn’t really decide out of Chin and Kono who would be Famine and who would be Pestilence. Kono, perhaps could be Famine? She was pretty slim after all.

And Chin. The rumour that he was a dirty cop spread around the island like the plague. Maybe that’s what he would be.

Thinking of this, he failed to consider the awful follow up questions. What tests would they be put through.

War? Danny didn’t even want to think about it. Steve is a very capable fighter, everyone in his life knew that. Would this psycho try and fight Steve? _His funeral_ , Danny scoffed internally at the idea.

Famine? Oh no. Kono would be made to starve! That was the first idea that formed in Danny’s head. Or maybe she would be forced to eat? That would be a quicker ‘test’.

Pestilence? The only logical test to this would be that Chin would be poisoned or he would catch some sort of fatal illness.

Danny stopped himself, expressing a noise of dread mixed with pain. Like the sort of noise someone would make when they drowning and is suddenly bitten in the leg by a shark.

Why was he thinking of water? He was starting to hallucinate. Blood loss was taking over and he was soon unable to hold onto a solid thought for very long.

Death, it would seem, was over his shoulder. Breathing down his neck and wrapping thin, sharp arms around him, attempting to steal him away. Danny almost let himself be stolen, if it weren’t for the female screams he could hear from outside the door.

_Kono?_

He could hear them clear as day, but he couldn’t raise his head. He wasn’t even aware that his head was hanging down like this until now, totally consumed in his hallucination where Death was hugging him like a creepy uncle.

It was definitely Kono, even after the screams had faded, Danny was sure it was her.

So she’d been taken too.

Were the others here? Chin?

_Steve?_

Why was this happening? Why couldn’t he stop it? He was powerless, outmatched by Death itself and unable to even put up a fight.

* * *

“Chin. Wake up, please… _Please._ ” Kono wailed as she cradled her cousin’s unresponsive form in her arms.

She couldn’t rouse him, no matter what she tried he just wouldn’t wake up. They were in an old, dingy shower room and Kono used her surroundings to her advantage. She took off one of her socks and ran it under the cold water from the shower, washing it off and soaking it. She squeezed some of the water from the fabric and returned to Chin, placing the damp sock on his forehead.

It was the best she could do, and she had to get his temperature down; he was burning up.

After about 10 minutes, she started to get a response. Whenever his skin warmed up the damp fabric she would rinse it in cold water again and put it back on Chin’s forehead, keeping him cool. She returned with from the shower for the third time and noticed Chin’s eyes darting around under his lids.

“Chin? Oh, come on Chin. Come back to me.” She pleaded, biting her lip as tears threatened to spill over from her eyes again.

She’d cried too much in the last hour or so, time for crying was over.

“Chin? Come on… _please_?” She beckoned to him again, stroking his cheek while she kept the damp sock on his forehead.

His eyes fluttered open and he let out a painful exhale, breathing relief into Kono as she held him tighter.

“Thank God.” She whimpered, tears slipping out despite what she promised earlier.

“ _K’nno_.” Chin groaned, blinking to focus his vision on his beautiful cousin.

“I’m here, Chin. You’re gonna be okay.” She told him, just relieved to be able to have a conversation with him.

“Mm c-cold.” He whispered, his voice just not strong enough to make a louder noise.

“I know, cuz. But, I’ve gotta get your fever down.” Kono told him, taking the damp fabric off his forehead for a minute and stroking it with her hand to warm up the skin but not enough to let his fever rise too much again.

“What’s wrong with me?” Chin asked weakly, looking up at her.

His throat wasn’t dry, it was warm and it felt like he was trying to swallow a rock. His skin was burning but his blood flowed in his veins like ice.

Kono swallowed and smiled. Not because she was happy, but because she couldn’t handle the anguish that was welling up inside her.

“You’re sick, Chin.” She told him. That’s all she could tell him at this point. She didn’t know what was wrong with him. Was it fatal? Was it the flu? Was it something horrific and irreversible? She just didn’t know, and that was the worst thing about it all.

They were all gone. There was no one left and it killed Steve. His team were gone. Danny, now Chin and Kono. Steve couldn’t handle the solitude. To make matters worse, he didn’t have one clue as to who his friends’ kidnappers were. Not one piece of solid evidence to help him rescue his friends. His _ohana_.

He sat at his desk, nerves flying round his head like persistent insects that won’t allow him even a moment alone with other thoughts. His mind was with his family.

The silence was stifling, he could barely breathe. Sat at his desk, while his friends were in danger; it turned his stomach.

He decided to go back to Danny’s apartment. Forensics had combed through the house that Kono and Chin had been taken from so there was no point in going there, but maybe they had missed something at Danny’s. It was a stretch, but he had to do something.

With white knuckles curled around the wheel, Steve drove carelessly, his senses clouded by worry.

It was getting dark now, the sky was stained with the colours of sunset and the slight chill in the air reminded Steve that the day was coming to an end. This only angered him more.

Being so focused on his thoughts, Steve failed to notice the car that had been tailing him for the last five minutes. He noticed it now, and he was in no mood for a stalker. He started to devise a plan when another vehicle slammed into the side of his truck.

The truck veered off road and flipped over, landing on its left side and leaving Steve unconscious from a severe head wound.

* * *

It was morning when Steve finally came round. The thick smell of blood surrounded him and he could taste it in his mouth. His hand instinctively lifted and touched his head. He remembered the wound he received last night and, much like he expected, there was dried blood on the side of his head, as well as blood that clearly wasn’t dry as it coated his hand.

The first thing he needed to do was open his eyes. He fought the urge to let out a groggy moan in case there were any possible dangers around and his eyes fluttered open. After a brief glance at his surroundings, Steve appeared to be in, what looked like, a bomb shelter.

_Why the Hell would there be a bomb shelter in the middle of Hawaii?_ Was Steve’s first thought, but not the most important.

Steve sat up. It hurt, but he did it. If he was correct, he had received a mild concussion and two bruised ribs. He’d done more with worse injuries in his life. This was nothing.

But it wasn’t nothing. His friends still needed rescuing. And here he was, sat in a damn bomb shelter. He started to believe he was dreaming. Perhaps he had gotten into some sort of accident and dreamt this whole thing.

There was no Four Horsemen nonsense.

Kono and Chin had not been taken.

And Danny was home.

He wasn’t dreaming, however. The pain in his ribs made that quite clear.

His pockets felt very empty, and when he pressed hands to his hips, that’s exactly what he found. No badge, no gun on his belt, no cell phone.

There was a trunk opposite him and he made his way, gracelessly, towards it, ending up on his knees while he pried open the lid.

Weapons.

Handguns, shotguns, automatics, grenades, knives. Anything Steve could think of that you can buy in a weapon store was right here in front of him.

Now he was really confused.

Why would his kidnapper take his gun and then offer him every weapon he could think of on practically a silver platter?

Nevertheless, the Navy SEAL armed himself with weapons, stuffing knives in his boots, handguns in his pockets and in the waistband of his cargo pants. With an automatic shotgun in his hand and a belt full of grenades across his shoulders, Steve imagined Danny’s laughter in his head.

_‘What are you, Rambo?’_ the detective would cackle.

Steve’s lips curled up slightly at the left at this thought.

“Don’t worry, Danno.” He murmured aloud. “I’m comin’ for you.”

Of course he had Chin and Kono in his thoughts at the same time, but Steve couldn’t deny the bond between himself and the blonde detective. His partner. His best friend.

They were all his friends. And he had to get them back.

Charging himself up mentally, he stood in front of the door, anger painted on his features, and kicked it open.

_Holy Crap._

* * *

 

Kono was sure that Chin was going to vomit. Every so often his chest would convulse and he would sit up. But he couldn’t be sick. He physically couldn’t, and that worried Kono more than anything.

When person is ill, one of the most natural things for them to do is vomit. Even when it’s just a mild case of the flu. But Chin; sweating, passing out, convulsing, forgetting things, unable to form words properly. Vomiting was about the only thing he wasn’t doing.

Kono wasn’t meant to starve. She was meant to watch Chin die and not be able to do anything about it. She hungered, not for food, but for a chance to save her cousin.

She was being starved of hope.

The only thing she had access to was water from a dingy shower head, and she wasn’t even sure that was clean so she wouldn’t drink it, nor offer it to Chin.

His eyes darted rapidly under his eyelids. Kono put her sweater underneath his head because every time he convulsed he would hit his head on the floor. And he didn’t want her to hold him.

He was too hot, then too cold, then too hot, then freezing, the burning up. It was driving him insane and cold sweat was starting to coat his olive skin.

“I’m sorry, Chin.” Kono mumbled, her voice shaking.

“D’nt say y’r s’rry.” The dying man uttered through his teeth. Pain ripped through his throat with every word but he continued. “Sorry…means y’r g’ving…up.”

Something that sounded like a mouse in pain escaped Kono and she covered her mouth with her hand just before she started to sob.

Chin opened his eyes long enough to see his cousin weep. He wished he’d kept his eyes shut. The slim woman leaned down and curled her body into foetal position beside her cousin, resting her head on his chest and clasping his hand in hers.

He understood what she was saying.

_‘There’s nothing I can do for you, and it kills me. But if you’re going to die, I’ll be here with you. You won’t be alone.’_

Hearing Kono’s whimpering sobs almost made Chin cry too. He would have if he wasn’t dying. If his entire body didn’t feel like it was giving up. His heart beat was slowing down, Kono could feel it too. The soft ‘thud, thud’ against her cheek was proceeding at an incredibly slow pace.

Kono started to sing. She wasn’t even sure what she was singing and Chin would normally have laughed at her. But he didn’t. Her voice was nasally from the snot running down her nose and her shaking voice couldn’t hold a note; but Chin wouldn’t ask her to stop.

He couldn’t ask her to stop; he felt like if she stopped singing, he would fade away.

So he held onto her voice. Mentally grasping hold of every inaudible word and each badly out-of-key note and gripped it tightly with the intention of never letting go.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Long grass wrapped around Steve’s boots, threatening to pull him down on the ground but he fought the foliage and kept running. The lumpy ground made him look like he was running across an uneasy tide and the speed he was moving at made him feel like he could possibly manage to run on water if he came across it.

Explosions caused him to flinch, almost making him fall over. One bullet was lodged in his right bicep and the pain was unbearable, but he supressed it and kept running.

He kept running because he _had_ to.

**Tick.**

_Shit._

Run!

**Boom.**

The field seemed endless. No matter how far, how fast Steve ran there was still more to go.

Mines had been planted all over the field. They were on a two second delay so if he stepped on one, he _had_ to keep moving.

There was no, _‘Shit, did I just step on a mine?’_. All Steve could do was run. Automatic weapons were concealed in various bushes across the field, aimed in all sorts of directions and Steve couldn’t even see them. He just had to run and hope that the bullets miss him. He had already taken one to the arm and another had nicked his side. He was in pain, and the weapons he had bulked himself up with were useless. There were no targets.

It was a test and he failed. Without knowing anything about the situation, Steve had grabbed every possible weapon he could and now they were weighing him down. He could always dispose of them; in fact he’d dropped the auto-shotgun he was holding, but he had to be careful. If he slowed down even a little, he could get caught up in one of the explosions.

**Tick.**

_Shit._

Run!

**Boom.**

There goes another mine.

The flames burned Steve’s back and his legs powered on faster.

He was starting to feel dizzy. His legs trampled around carelessly and he almost tripped twice, throwing his arm out in front of him in case he needed to break his own fall.

But then he saw it. He wasn’t sure what it was. But it wasn’t a field.

A metal building. A factory? A warehouse? Another bomb shelter?

It was big, wider than it was taller.

Steve didn’t care how big it was, that was his destination now.

**Tick.**

_Shit._

Run!

**Boom.**

* * *

 

 

Danny wasn’t even sure if he was still alive. He could barely see anything, lost in his own mind. No sounds could be heard within the room; silence ringing in his ears. He was cold and numb.

_‘Maybe this is what death feels like?’_ He contemplated. They say that when you die, your brain still has a few minutes of activity left. Maybe this was it.

His head hung low, his chin resting against his chest. He couldn’t move it. Not even if Gracie walked in the room.

_Gracie._

Danny wasn’t filled with sadness at the thought of his daughter. In fact, no sooner was she on his mind before she was gone again. He couldn’t focus, the darkness pulling him in with promises of peace and an end to the constant feeling of emptiness.

His entire body, all of his skin was paper white. Danny wasn’t a scientist, but by-God no human should be this pale. No _living_ human anyway.

His hand was red; blood masked the pale skin underneath and it was the only source of colour that his eyes could seek out. Why-oh-why did he decide to wear a _white_ shirt.

He needed colour, he needed feeling. But all he got was **death**.

The figure in the dark cloak hadn’t returned for quite some time. Danny guessed that that meant he’d failed.

Not that there was really any way of succeeding in this _so-called_ test. Even when he did get those stupid questions right, he didn’t get a reward.

If Danny ever saw that guy again he’d give him such a beating…actually, considering the detective couldn’t even feel his own hand, that beating would have to wait until there came a time when Danny could actually breathe properly.

If there ever did come a time.

A thud against the wall brought Danny crashing down to reality.

* * *

 

 

Steve slammed into the wall of the metal building, gasping for breath. He’d done it. He’d reached the end of the field. No more mines.

There was a door round the corner that he spotted while he was running and after regaining some of his strength he headed for it.

Being the ex-Navy SEAL that he was, Steve hadn’t rid himself of all the weapons he picked up in the bomb shelter. Two knives could be found stuffed in his boots and he still had two handguns. He wouldn’t be Steve if he went into a battle unarmed.

He rounded the corner without a great amount of stealth but hauled himself back at the sight of a tall stranger in a long red cloak. Steve barely believed his eyes. He peered round to catch another glimpse at the odd figure.

The cloak was blood red with what looked like burn marks at the bottom by his feet and on the ends of the sleeves.

This guy was like some bizarre fictional character and Steve didn’t have time for some psycho in a costume. He pulled out his gun and swung round the corner again, his gun aimed straight at the hood of the strange character.

“Take down the hood!” He demanded. His voice wasn’t as strong as he wanted it to be. His lungs burned painfully from the amount of running he had done. He swallowed and let out a cough.

With no idea where he was and no badge in his pocket, Steve didn’t feel like he had very much authority here, certainly not enough to make order the guy to put his hands on his head and get on his knees. But he could still use force and get this guy to do what he needed.

“Now!” Steve barked his order again, a little louder this time after getting no response from the cloaked man.

Anger bubbled up under Steve’s firm exterior and he fired a shot at the wall beside the man’s head. He didn’t even flinch.

* * *

A gunshot woke Kono up and she gasped, sitting bolt upright and pushing the hair out of her face. The stale, cold state of the room made her believe that she had imagined the gunshot; that she must have fell asleep and the noise was just an extension of her dreams.

Rubbing her eyes in sad resignation, Kono turned to her cousin. “Chin?” She beckoned to his unmoving form. “ _Oh God_ , Chin!”

He woke at the sound of her scream with a gasp, looking around for danger before he was reminded by his body that he was very ill and his head dropped back on the floor. “Jeez, K’no.” He murmured softly, irritation only just detectable in his voice.

“Oh, Chin, I thought you were…” She stopped herself, unwilling to think about what she could have woken up to. “Did you hear a gunshot?” she asked, wanting to talk about anything except Chin’s illness.

“Mm.” Chin moaned, not really in response to his cousin’s question, but more as an outlet of his discomfort. “No.” He croaked, his throat still incredibly dry.

“Huh.” Kono pushed her lips together to form a thin line.

“Why? Di’you?” Opening his eyes, Chin attempted a conversation with Kono.

“Yeah, I think so.” She mumbled.

Steve sprang to her mind. _Danny would laugh_ ; the sound of a gunshot made her think of Steve. Maybe he had come to rescue them. Or perhaps Steve had been kidnapped too and that gunshot was-

**No**.

Kono ignored the latter idea. She had to stay positive.

Closing her eyes, she created a mental picture.

_Steve barged through the hallway, gun in hand and his cold Navy SEAL stare plastered across his face. He’d burst into the room Danny was in and rescue him first; the poor detective looked like he needed immediate medical care from what Kono saw of him through the window. Then, once Danny was safe and their kidnapper (s) had received the beating(s) of their life (ves), Steve would kick down the door and rescue Chin and herself. There would be a helicopter outside to take Chin and Danny to the hospital and they would both make full recoveries, ready to come back to work within a few months._

Chin sucked in a breath through his teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead. There were no positive images of happy endings in his mind. His muscles ached and he was consumed by the overwhelming urge to vomit.

She was pulled from her fantasy world and Kono picked up her sock and rinsed it under the shower head at the other side of the room. She placed it on her cousin’s forehead and sighed.

_A face._

Kono took in a sharp inhale as she spotted the face in the window on the door. She could see that the person was wearing a yellow cloak, like the white one she saw on the man who locked her in this room, but his hood was down.

The two stared wordlessly at one another. The Hawaiian cop studied the man’s features; his long sharp nose and thin lips. His light coloured brows weren’t very high above his aqua coloured eyes. He wasn’t as old as the man on the message they received back at H50 Headquarters; this guy couldn’t have been older than 50 but his hair was so blonde it was almost white, aging him more.

Kono wanted to wake up Chin, she wanted someone with her as she stared into the eyes of the man who caused her cousin so much pain.

“Hey!” A distant voice called out.

Before Kono could take any action, the man backed away from the window, disappearing from sight.

Not five seconds after he disappeared from the window, before Kono could get to her feet, she heard another gunshot and a thud that sounded like a dropping body. Kono was at the window before she had even blinked and the man in the yellow cloak was lying on the ground, red liquid spreading across the mustard coloured fabric.

She looked up, seeing an open door and her breath hitched in her throat.

“S-Steve?”

“Hey, I’m talkin’ to you! Drop the hood, **now**!” Steve shouted again at the man in the red cloak, but something seemed off. Either this guy was deaf, dumb or mentally unable to process Steve’s order.

He approached the man with hesitation, still aiming his gun at him as he reached up and pulled down the red hood.

_Son of a bitch._

A mannequin. An empty face is all Steve was met with. Letting out a fearsome roar, Steve roundhouse kicked the mannequin away from the door and swung it open with his left arm, remembering that there was still a bullet in his right arm.

With his gun out in front of him, he entered the building, a bulk of yellow catching his eye. Another cloaked figure, this time in an ugly mustard colour.

“Hey!” He called out as a warning.

The figure backed up and turned around. Definitely not another mannequin.

Out of the cloak the man pulled a gun. Steve had no choice but to shoot and the man crumpled to the ground, red spilling from his chest.

Steve blew out his cheeks, exhaling relief for a moment before scanning his surroundings.

He was at the bottom of a corridor with metal walls and metal doors with little windows and numbers. There were 4 rooms in total; 3 along the walls and one at the end of the corridor, directly in front of him.

Speaking of which, something familiar caught Steve’s eyes as he looked straight ahead.

“Kono!” He exclaimed and sprinted down the hall. He practically slammed into the door and grabbed the handle, unlocking it with hands that shook with anticipation. He yanked the door open and was ready to pull his friend into a welcoming embrace.

Fear flashed in Kono’s eyes for a moment and before she could yell out, a belt was suddenly around Steve’s neck and he was being choked from behind.

“Steve!” She cried as he dropped his gun.

* * *

Danny was awake now. There was no chance of him moving very much, but he knew that he wasn’t dead now at least. He could hear things; voices, thuds, _gunshots._

What the Hell was happening?

Gunshot.

“Hey!” He heard Steve yell.

Second gunshot.

“Kono!” His partner exclaimed, relief in his tone.

Running footsteps.

“ _Steve_!” Kono cried.

The detective’s mind raced with ideas.

Was Steve here? And Kono? Why did Kono sound so worried? _What the Hell was happening?_

* * *

Kono launched herself through the open door to Steve’s aid. The man in the white hood was immensely strong. He overpowered her before and now he was trying to choke Steve.

She slipped round behind the man and jumped on his back, wrapping her arm under his chin and pulling, applying a great amount of pressure on his throat.

Steve tried to hit his attacker with his elbow but black spots danced around his vision as he was deprived of precious oxygen.

“Get off him!” Kono growled, yanking on the man’s neck to try and weaken him. It worked.

The attacker’s grip on the belt around Steve’s neck started to loosen and Steve took this opportunity to attack. He managed to raise his leg enough to reach into his boot and grab a knife. He plunged it into the man’s thigh and he roared in pain, releasing Steve almost immediately.

Steve fell forward on to his hands and knees and coughed, desperately pulling in oxygen while he rubbed his bruising neck.

Kono hopped off of the man’s back and kicked him, hard. Once on his knees, Steve got up and pulled down the hood of the man’s white cloak. He didn’t recognise him.

“Who are you?” Steve demanded, picking up his gun and aiming straight between the man’s eyes.

“I am…one of Earth’s protectors.” The man panted out, pain evident in his eyes from the wound in his leg.

“Gimme a name!” Steve growled, not in the mood for idiotic fantasies.

“Steve McGarrett.” The man retorted, baring his teeth and starting to get to his feet.

The man was around seven feet tall and Steve really didn’t want this guy standing up.

“Stay on your knees!” Steven pushed the barrel of his gun to the man’s head. “Tell me your name!”

“War.” The man hissed. He reached into his cloak and curled his fingers around something.

“ _Don’t_.” Steve warned. “Don’t even think about it.” But he had.

As soon as he saw the butt of the pistol, Steve pulled the trigger.

Kono saw what was coming and moved out of the way, narrowly missing the thick spattering of blood and brains.

Steve rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and let out a deep breath. He looked to Kono, “You okay?” he asked her.

The young cop nodded, but then she remembered. “Chin,” She murmured, racing back into the room to her cousin. Steve followed.

“Oh my God.”

Chin’s olive skin was now deeply pale, the areas around his eyes were a dark purple and sweat coated his body. He was convulsing again and shivering uncontrollably.

“What’s wrong with him?” Steve asked Kono, joining her at Chin’s side.

“I don’t know, it seems to be some sort of virus or infection or…” She honestly had no idea what it was and all she could do was guess.

Steve backed away for a moment. “Is it contagious?”

Kono tensed, freezing in place. She hadn’t considered that. All she was concerned with was her cousin’s well-being, not her own. She met Steve’s eyes, her brown orbs fighting back tears.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you’ve been in here with him for a while I’m guessing. How do you feel?” Steve decided to think rationally for the first time today, keeping calm despite Chin’s awful condition.

“I feel fine.” _Aside from the sickening worry and intense adrenaline,_ Kono wanted to add.

Steve muttered a few things, putting a plan together in his mind and speaking them aloud to no one in particular.

“Kono, where’s Danny?” His mind found his partner and locked onto him. Danny had been missing for around two days now; Steve was beyond worried.

Realisation shone in Kono’s eyes, mirroring Steve’s as they both remembered their teammate. “He’s down the hall, room #2 I think.” She told him eagerly, her expression telling him to go to Danny.

Steve didn’t need to be asked twice. He scrambled up to his feet, lifting his gun as he did, and headed for the room that held his friend.

* * *

Now that his senses were returning, Danny felt like something was off. He could feel a presence in the room, whether he was imaging it or not remained to be seen. But he definitely felt like he wasn’t alone in the room.

“ _You should be dead_.” Danny’s heart almost stopped in fright as a voice hissed in his ear. He flinched, causing a shockwave of nausea to pass through his veins where blood should be.

The Grim Reaper figure that Danny had encountered many times during his torment appeared from behind and now stood before him.

Had he been there the whole time?

Again, the upper section of the man’s face was masked in shadow as he remained under the black hood of his cloak.

“Why. Aren’t. You. **Dead**?” His voice sounded like it was escaping through clenched teeth.

Danny didn’t have the strength to snarl a witty comeback at the crazed man. Instead he gave a weak shrug, which probably angered the man even more.

He pulled out a gun and held it to Danny’s head. “You have failed.” He spoke with a slightly worried tone, as if he was scared of Danny.

“ _Danny_!”

“Danny!” Steve yelled before he kicked the door open.

He was getting pretty sick of men in long cloaks now.

“Put the gun down!” He demanded, aiming his own weapon at the Grim Reaper character that held a gun to his partner’s head.

He stole a glance at Danny; blood coated his hand and there was a pool of it on the floor underneath. He’d been shot. His skin was pale, unbelievably pale and Steve swallowed down bile.

“War.” The cloaked figure whispered. “War succeeds. Famine remains. Pestilence lingers. And Death **will be certain**.”

The words the man spoke sounded threatening and Steve saw no point in trying to negotiate peace. The instant that the man’s finger flinched, Steve shot him and the delusional man hit the ground with a dull thud.

That was it. Four of them. Red, yellow, white and black. There shouldn’t be anymore. It was over.

Steve turned his attention to Danny and almost sobbed. He held it together and knelt down in front of his partner, reaching for his neck to take a pulse.

“Danno? Danny, Can you hear me?” He spoke softly, feeling the very faint, ‘thud…thud’ of Danny’s pulse against his fingertips.

“Danno. Hey.” Steve placed his hands on either side of Danny’s face and lifted his chin to get his partner to look at him. “Danno, you there?”

The detective let out a soft moan and his eyes shifted under his eyelids.

“Attaboy, just stay with me. I ‘m gonna get you outta here.”

Steve tore off the sleeve of his t-shirt and fashioned a weak bandage to wrap around Danny’s hand. It wasn’t much, but it was something.  He cut the rope that bound Danny to the chair and the detective slumped over, falling into Steve.

“Chin goddammit, will you open your eyes!” Steve heard Kono’s desperate plea from the other room and bit his lip.

With Danny’s arm across his shoulder, Steve pulled his friend limply to his feet and made for the door. He sat Danny down in the hallway and mumbled a quick, “be right back, Danno.” Before rushing to Kono.

“How’s he doing?” He asked, looking at Chin. He didn’t really need to ask. He could see that Chin was dying.

“He won’t wake up and I don’t think he can hear me.” Kono whimpered, her hands were trembling as they rested on Chin’s chest.

Steve’s mind buzzed. He frantically searched for a solution; a way out; a cure for Chin. SOMETHING.

_Fresh air._

“Kono.” Steve addressed her, looking directly at her. “Kono, look at me.”

She didn’t. She turned her head towards him but couldn’t take her tear filled eyes away from her cousin.

“Kono, **look at me**.” Steve placed his hands on both side of her face and gently turned her face towards him. Now she looked at him. “We’re going to take Chin outside. Okay? Get him some fresh air, yeah?”

Kono nodded blankly.

The two of them pulled Chin to his feet, with both of his arms draped across them and his head hung low. It wasn’t easy. Danny was at least slightly conscious but Chin was completely out. Like carrying a dead body. Steve tried not to think of his friend like that.

Kono and Steve pretty much carried Chin outside. Kono let out a small gasp when she saw Danny slumped in the hallway but Steve didn’t look at him.

Once Chin was outside, laying on the floor, with his head on a conveniently placed rock, Steve hurried back inside to get Danny.

“You didn’t think I’d forgotten about you, did you, Danno?” The lighting was terrible so Steve couldn’t quite see Danny’s face. But he didn’t get a response from the detective.

Taking a moment, while crouched in front of Danny. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh through his nose.

_What the fuck is happening? How do we get home? Chin had better live through this. And Danno._

He let his head fall forward and his forehead rested against Danny’s.

“Come on, Danno. You’ve gotta make it through this. Please…” He whispered, hoping that his best friend could hear him.

“Steve!” Kono cried. Steve flinched, images of a dead Chin flashed through his head.

As quickly as he could, Steve hoisted Danny up onto his feet and took him outside.

“What’s wrong?” He looked for Kono but she wasn’t beside Chin where he left her. “Kono?”

“Over here.” She called. She was round the corner, behind the small building.

Steve put Danny down next to Chin. The two of them looked as good as dead and Steve felt something in kick his heart. He tore his eyes away and jogged to Kono.

She was knelt beside a small metal container, like an ammo box.

“What’s that?” He asked her.

“I don’t know, but there’s a ringing phone inside.” Kono told Steve.

“Can’t you get it open?” Steve asked, crouching beside her.

“No, its locked.”

“Stand back.” Steve stood up. Kono hopped back a few steps.

Steve pulled out his gun and fired a good few times at the lock until it flew off in different pieces. He launched himself at the box and tore the lid open to find…

Steve’s badge, gun and cell phone, as well as Chin and Kono’s phones.

Relief washed through both of them and Steve picked up his ringing cell phone.

“Hello?” He answered sitting down as his legs turned to jelly. “Oh, hey governor.”

It was a long helicopter ride home. In reality it was something like 15 minutes but it seemed like a lifetime to Steve. He watched the medical evac helicopter flying in front of him; knowing that his friends were inside and that they were dying.

Kono took his hand and squeezed it. They both just needed someone to hold onto.

When they landed at the hospital Steve had to be forcibly kept inside the helicopter until it was safe to exit. If it were up to him he would have jumped out while it was still in the air.

Kono sat by Chin’s bed side for four hours without moving. The doctors said that one of the culprits must have had medical training because they had managed to create their own brand of the flu. A much more deadly version.

Chin had survived the worst of it, but there was still a chance he could slip away during the night. Kono refused to leave the room. She wouldn’t let him go. Not now.

He looked healthier than before. His skin had a much more natural pallor and he was no longer sweating so furiously.

Kono sat with her elbow on her knee and her hand on her chin. Her eyes threatened to shut. She was tired.

So…very… _tired…_

* * *

 Danny’s operation didn’t take too long. Since it was just his hand that was injured there wasn’t a lot of work to be done in the reconstruction department. But he did need blood. And fast.

Steve had to get medical treatment for the burns on the backs of his legs and the concussion he had received. The doctors also told him that instead of two bruised ribs, like he had thought, he had two broken ribs and one bruised one. The burns were incredibly minor and he was told that if he fainted in the next twenty-four hours then he had to come back immediately but they eventually let him go and he went straight into the waiting area next to the operating theatre.

It was a horrible two hours but a surgeon came out to see Steve and told him that Danny was going to be fine. He needed a lot of rest for the blood transfusion to work and there was some nerve damage to his hand but with some physiotherapy he would be just fine.

He wasn’t allowed to visit Danny right away because the nurses had to set up a blood drip so he went to see Chin.

Kono was sleeping on the chair, which meant that Chin was out of danger. She wouldn’t have let herself fall asleep if Chin was still so ill.

He stood by the bed and smiled. “How’s it goin’ buddy?” He spoke, hoping that Chin would wake up.

And he did! Steve almost jumped out of his skin when Chin opened his eyes. He spotted Steve and smiled weakly. “You look like Hell, brah.” He croaked.

“Look who’s talkin’.” Steve chuckled. “Do you feel as bad as you look?”

“Worse.” Chin swallowed trying to soothe his throat.

“Must feel pretty bad then.” Steve teased.

Kono woke up and leapt to her feet. “Chin!” She was grinning.

“Hey cuz.” Chin replied weakly.

Kono took Chin’s hand and placed it on her cheek, scolding him through her tears for worrying her like he had.

Steve decided to leave the two. Satisfied that one member of his family was safe, he went to check on the other.

* * *

He clenched his teeth together when he entered the room. He had seen blood a million times but seeing it in a bag never gets easier. Especially when it’s going into his best friend’s arm.

Danny didn’t wake up until the next day. Steve had gone home briefly to change his clothes and brought some Kono from her house but he came straight back and waited by Danny’s bed side.

The doctors had called Rachel and she pulled Grace out of school to visit Danny. They were on their way when Danny woke up.

Steve was reading a magazine. It was really bad. He didn’t recognise half of the people and the women were really ugly.

“I didn’t think you liked celebrity gossip.” Steve heard the detective mumble and looked up from the pages.

“Hey Danno.” He dropped the magazine and approached the bed. “Long time no see.” He was grinning and couldn’t stop.

“Well y’know, I was busy.” Danny shrugged weakly. His smile was faint.

“How’re you feelin’?”

“Rough.”

Steve didn’t make a joke. He wanted to, but he didn’t.

“What happened?” Danny asked Steve.

Steve blew out his cheeks, wondering where to start. “Uh, four guys started a group and decided that the Five-0 team were the four horsemen of the apocalypse. So they put us all to the test.” He shrugged. It was a lame explanation but it was the best he could do.

“Wait, so it wasn’t just me?”

“No, all four of us.” Steve sighed.

“Is everyone okay? What did they do to you? Wh-“

“Relax, Danno. I’m getting’ to it.” Steve stopped Danny. “Chin was Pestilence and he was given some sort of super-flu that was supposed to kill him.”

“Is he?”

“No, he’s fine. He’s with Kono down the hall.” Steve assured Danny quickly.

“Oh,” Danny sighed, relieved. “And Kono?”

“She was Famine and she was locked in the room with Chin.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Apparently one of the guys said something to Kono that related to Famine but she wouldn’t tell me what it was.” Steve shrugged.

Danny nodded for a while then arched up his brow. “You were War, weren’t you?”

“Don’t look at me like that.” Steve scoffed.

“I knew it. That’s like your middle name.”

“No it’s not.”

“Oh right, yours starts with a J doesn’t it?”

“Can we drop it?”

“What is it then, Joanne? Janet?”

“You’re a jerk, y’know that? I should have left you there.”

“You’d miss me.”

“No I wouldn’t.”

“Would.”

“Wouldn’t.”

“Admit it.”

“Fine I would.”

“Say it.”

“Say what?”

“Say you’d miss me.”

“No.”

“ _Say it.”_

“Fine! I’d miss you Danno.”

“I know.”

 


End file.
